Red Roulette
by Imsomania
Summary: Plays out during Ace's 16:th year and Luffy's 13:th. The two brothers are living their lives when they one day meet a extremely red haired girl... Warnings for O/C, out of charakterness, and possibly suprise mindfuck moments.
1. Ouch!

**Red Roulette**

Ace yawned and rolled over in his sheets, trying to ignore the sounds around him. He felt a weight on top of him and growled slightly. The sounds grew louder and were getting really annoying.  
>"Ace! Ace! Ace! Oii~ wake up already!" His younger brother whined from the other side of the sheets and started beating him with a pillow.<br>"Shut up and let me sleep Luffy." Ace muttered into his pillow. He hadn't been able to go to bed until late at night because the damn thirteen year old brother of his had dissapeared so he had to look through the entire forest just to find him sleeping in a birds nest.

"ACE! WAKE UP!" A hard punch hit Ace in the back of his head and all the sleepyness dissapeared at once.  
>"Luffy you little...!" Ace yelled, sat up and gripped the collar of Luffy's t-shirt. The kid smiled a wide luffy-smile.<br>"Finally! Nee Ace, let's go to the beach today!" Luffy said with excitement in his eyes.  
>"Hah? The beach? Why?" Ace asked.<br>"I want to! Come on, it'll be fun!" Luffy stated. Ace slightly facepalmed and gave off a slight sight.  
>"Fine." He got up and scratched his head. He put his shoes on and grabbed his newly acquired orange hat.<p>

After yelling to Dadan they were leaving, they walked through the familiar forest towards the road heading down to Fuusha village. At first, Ace had though Luffy ment the beach by the Gray Terminal, since that was the lawless area they were used to.  
>But Luffy led the way down to his old hometown and then turned from it going along the beach. He happily ran in the sand while stating what a good idea it was to come here.<br>Ace looked around. It was a nice enviroment. The sun was shining and being reflected in the blue water, and the yellow sand was very soft under his feet so he took off his shoes.

"Oi, Ace!" Luffy yelled from futher down the beach. Ace turned his head and saw Luffy bending over a pile of some sort. The pile was half still in the water and the waves kept it from drying in the warm sunlight.  
>He walked closer, curious as to what his brother had discovered. When he arrived next to Luffy he stared in shock at the 'pile' in front of them.<br>"A person?" Ace said and bent down to take a closer look. He noticed the body was a female, and moved the flaming red hair covering her face. Her eyes where closed and her skin was too pale for it to possibly be healthy. He also noticed that her lips shimmered in blue, as if she had been in the cold for too long. She was very filthy.

"Ace, we gotta take her to a doctor." Luffy said looking up at his taller brother.  
>"Yeah." Ace agreed and carefully picked the girl up.<br>"Woah! That's gotta hurt." Luffy said with a pained expression and pointed at the girls left arm. Ace twitched when he saw the horrible wound. The arm was swollen and twice as thick as her right one. The skin was purple and blood soaked. It was horribly twisted and he could even see part of the bone coming out.  
>"No wonder she's unconsious... We better hurry up." Ace said and tried not to look at it again.<p>

After half running half walking back to Fuusha, Makino greeted them as they walked past her bar.  
>"Luffy! Ace! What on earth happend to her? Are you two alright?" She asked with a worried look on her face.<br>"We don't know. Found her on the beach." Ace explained. Makino gave off a 'oh my' and then showed them the way to the doctors house.  
>"Oi Mister Doctor!" Luffy yelled instead of knocking and barged in the mans home. Makino sweatdropped but Ace just followed his brother inside since it was an emergenchy.<p>

The doctor gave them a suprised look but didn't mention the rudeness after seeing the girl Ace was carrying. He hurried to get her into a bed with clean sheets and started exemine her while asking questions.  
>After not really getting to know anything exept for how she had been unconsious the whole time since they found her, the doctor stopped asking. Luffy sat down on a chair next to him.<br>"She gonna be alright, Doc?" He asked.  
>"Yes I belive so. Her arm is broken and needs to be taken care of but otherwise she's just exhausted and dehydrated." The doctor replied without looking up from his work as he with a loud snap forced the bone in her arm back to its proper place. Both Ace and Luffy twicted at the painfull sight and Makino closed her eyes.<p>

Makino had to leave since she couldn't leave the bar unguarded for too long, leaving the three men alone with the patient. The doctor had Luffy and Ace help him clean her off while he finished his treatment on her arm with desinfective cream and bandages.  
>Once she was clean, the doctor left the room to make her something to eat when she woke up and the two brothers stayed, with a slightly awkward silence on their lips.<p>

"How's that for a trip to the beach?" Ace muttered and Luffy chuckeled, but instantly stopped when a small groan was heard from the bed.  
>The red haired girl slowly opened her eyes, which were bright blue apperently. Ace couldn't help but to think she was kind of good looking now that she was all clean and you know... Not smelling like a dumptser.<br>She slowly sat up and blinked a couple of times. She then yawned loudly and looked at the two boys, who looked back.  
>"Yo!" She said simply.<br>"Yo!" Luffy responded. "Who are you?"  
>"I'm Anne. Who are you?" She replied and Ace sweatdropped slightly at how simple they both were acting.<p>

"I'm Luffy! And this is my big brother, Ace." Luffy said and pointed with his thumb at Ace.  
>"Nice to meet you. By the way, where am I?" Before they could answer her the doctor came back into the room with a tray stacked with food.<br>"Already up are you?" He said and put the tray down next to her bed. Ace had to hit Luffy to make him not snatch and devour the whole thing.  
>"For me? Thanks I'm starving!" Anne squeeled and started eating the food she was given.<br>"I bet. What on earth happend to you young lady?"  
>"Hmm well..." She said between bites. "My ship sunk, basicly."<br>"Your ship?" Ace rasied an eyebrow.  
>"Yeah, I'm a pirate. Ran into some marines and got my ass kicked, ship sunk but I managed to escape by fake drowning. A storm came and well here I am." She shrugged her shoulders and finished the food.<p>

"You're a pirate?" Luffy said, completely unable to hide his excitement to meet a real pirate, since it had been a while since last time.  
>"Yup." She smiled and offered him one of the cookies the doctor gave her for dessert.<br>"Young lady, what's your name again?" The doctor asked.  
>"Venom D Anne." She replied simply.<br>"Alright. I'll try to remember it. Either way missy. Pirate or not, you need to rest." The doctor said, and started shewing Ace and Luffy outside so she could have the room to herself.  
>"Oi Anne! We'll come visit you tomorrow so rest alot 'til then!" Luffy said waving at her before leaving.<br>"I will!" She replied smiling.

* * *

><p>Ace woke up from a really weird dream he couldn't remember much of, just the fact that it was weird, and rubbed the sleepyness out of his eyes. He turned his head to where Luffy was in the futon next to his. Luffy was still asleep and from the look on his snoring face he seemed to be having a nice dream. Ace smirked. <em>Sweet sweet revenge.<br>_"WAKE UP!" He yelled and trew himself on his sleeping brother, wrestling him.  
>"What are you doing?" Luffy yelled before fighting back. The two tumbeled around for a minute before they both let go of eatchother, sitting on the floor laughing their loungs out.<p>

After breakfast (breakfast meaning eating two oversized crocodiles along with fried giant bird eggs they found the night before) the two of them went to visit their new friend in Fuusha like Luffy had promised the day before. As they walked down the road, Luffy started singing.  
>"The islands in the south~ are warm~. Paina-puru, their heads get really hot..."<br>"Where the hell did you learn that weird song?" Ace interupted with a large sweat-drop on his head.  
>"Gee-chan thaught me!" Luffy said before continuing. "...And they're all idiots!"<br>"Geez." Ace smiled slightly, as many times before embracing the weirdness in his life.

They reached the village and this time knocked on the doctor's door. Then they barged in.  
>"Ah you're here!" Anne said greeting them. She was wearing brown short-short jeans and a oversized yellow t-shirt with a panda on the front.<br>"Hey Anne!" Ace said while keeping Luffy from walking into the doctors kitchen.  
>"Where's Mister Doctor?" Luffy asked after giving up trying to overpower the grip Ace had on his shirt.<br>"He went out a couple of hours ago, said something about a sick kid." Anne replied while putting her shoulder lenght red hair into two pigtails using her single funktioning hand.  
>"Wanna show me around the island? I really can't stand just sitting around like this for long." She said with a small sight and Ace nodded.<p>

Luffy was the first to leave the house. Ace followed, but when Anne did the same she tripped in the stairs and fell towards the ground. She landed extremely ungracefully on her butt.  
>"Oow, stupid thing!" She complained and the two boys laughed at her.<br>"Shishishi that's so clumpsy!" Luffy laughed holding his stomac.  
>"Totally un-cool." Ace teased, and a small rock flew by his head.<br>"Shut up and help me get up!" Anne said, reaching out her good hand. Ace took it and pulled her to feet. He pulled a little to hard though, and she bumped into him so he had to catch her. He twitched as his heart skipped a beat at the touch. He couldn't help it, he really wasn't used to being around girls.  
>"T-thanks." She said, apperently as embarassed as him.<br>"No prob." He muttered before noticing Luffy had already started walking.  
>"Wait up you moron!" He yelled and ran after him.<p>

After catching up Ace, Anne and Luffy walked around toghter talking and enjoying themselfes in general. Before they knew it, they had walked around almost the entire island and the sun was starting to set.  
>"Ah. I'm hungry!" Luffy complained.<br>"Should we go eat something?" Anne asked.  
>"Yeah sure. We can go to Makino's bar." Ace replied.<br>"Yay! Makino's food is the best!" Luffy shouted and bashed towards the village.  
>"O-oi! Don't just run off! Luffy!" Ace yelled after him. Anne laughed loudly.<br>"He's so funny!" She said wiping a small tear from her eye.  
>"Yeah, that's why he worries me." Ace said but smiled, and the two of them followed Luffy in a far calmer manner then him.<p>

Makino gave them a warm wellcome as they got inside, and they both saw Luffy was already there. He was sitting at the counter eating tons of meat like a boss. Other then him, there was only a couple of men in the back guesting the bar.  
>"Wellcome you two! I take it you're feeling better then yesterday young lady-san?" Makino said smiling while polishing a glass.<br>"Yes, thank you. You must be Makino-san?" Anne said politely.  
>"Why yes." She said and put the glass down. "Ace, don't be shy. Come and sit down you two! What would you like? It's on the house."<br>"Just give me anything with meat in it." Ace said and sat down next to Luffy.  
>"You're starting to sound like Luffy." Anne teased. Makino chuckeled and gave the two of them eatch a plate with fried chicken and rice. Accually, she gave Ace three plates.<p>

"Ah! Aschwe! Ahn! Yoh fwhinalie cahmmne!" Luffy said with his cheeks pouting inhumanly far out due to all the food inside of them.  
>"Luffy you moron, you react to slow." Ace scolded him. Anne stared with facination at Luffy and poked his cheek.<br>"Man, how do you do that?" She asked and pinched the cheek. Luffy swallowed all of the food at once and answered.  
>"I ate the gomu-gomu fruit, so I'm a rubber man that stretches." He said and once again stuffed his mouth full with food.<br>"Oh a devils' fruit? I ate one too!" Anne smiled and pulled his cheek again. "But yours seems way more fun then mine."  
>"Really? You ate a devils' fruit? Which one?" Ace asked.<br>"Mizu-mizu." She said and let go of Luffy's cheek.  
>"But if you ate a devils' fruit, wouldn't you have drowned when your ship sank?" Ace raised an eyebrow.<br>"Well mine is special... I'm a water human right?"  
>"Oh I get it, water won't be weakened by water right?" Makino said, leaning over the bar.<br>"Nope, but temperatures will... I remeber spending a week as a cloud after falling asleep on deck. Without me noticing, the sunshine got me too warm and turned me to steam." She shrugged with a pained look on her face. "Ended up raining down in the middle of a village and got stuck in a barrel they put out to collect the rain."  
>Ace stared at her for a second, then couldn't stop the laugher from brusting out of his mouth.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! This is my first time making an OC, and I'm terrifyed she'll become a Mary Sue if I'm not carefull... and if that happens I'll hate both her and myself for it. =w=' Do tell me what you think and if I need to change something, or if you have any other tips. ^^<strong>

**Quick list of the japanese words I used just in case anyone was wondering or confused over any of them:  
>Fuusha = Windmill (Name of Luffy's hometown from chapter 1)<br>Gomu = Rubber  
>Mizu = Water<strong>


	2. Melon bread and epic nosebleed

**Red Roulette**

"Alright you idiots, time to wake up!" Dadan annouced as she entered the two brats' room. She normally didn't wake them up unless they had duties to do, which she had given up trying to get them to do a long time ago, but today they had a visitor so she had no choice.  
>"Hm? What is it shitty Dadan?" Ace said after a large yawn.<br>"WHO YOU CALLING SHITTY? Be gratefull I've taken care of you for sixteen whole years!" Dadan yelled and punched Ace in the head. Luffy woke up as well as she did this.  
>"Yosh. Get up. You have guests." The large woman left the room and the two boys got up from their warm futons.<p>

"Ah! Makino!" Luffy said, and ran off to hug the green haired lady at the fire pit.  
>"Good morning, Luffy-chan!" She laughed and hugged him back. Ace smiled slightly at the scene, and noticed there were two other sitting by the fire.<br>"Aa! Mayor! Anne! What are you guys doing here?" Luffy asked before Ace had gotten the chance to do so himself.  
>"Don't be so rude." Fuusha village's mayor said in a strickt tone.<br>"Mornin' Luffy and Ace." Anne said with a smile. To Ace's suprise, she was wearing a skimpy pink dress with a wide black belt around the waist. The fabric had a really strange pattern - it was covered with a mix of blue monkeys, ham and books, and the large bandage around her left arm was decorated with yellow smilies all over. A large silver bracelet was covering her right wrist.  
>Makino seemed to notice his stare, as she looked at him and said, with a slighty sly smile:<br>"Doesn't she look cute in it? I gave her some of the clothes I used to wear when I was fithteen."

Ace blushed, why he wasn't sure, and tried to defend himself.  
>"Ace has always been shy." Luffy laughed.<br>"Oi you bastard!" Ace yelled at his brother, who just kept on laughing. He let his eyes wander down Anne's bare legs towards the fire and...  
>"OI! What happend to your feet?" He yelled in shock and pointed.<br>"Hm? AH CRAP!" She yelled and pulled her legs away from the fire then looked around.  
>"I hate when this happens..."<br>"You loose body parts often?" The mayor asked, just as shocked as the rest of them.  
>"There!" She said and pointed at a small cloud of steam hoovering just beneith the ceeling. The lot of them sweatdropped. With a move of her hand the steam went down to her legs and retook their original shape.<br>"Good thing they cooled down." She sighted and wiggeled her toes.

They were all snacking on some melonbread Makino had baked and brought with her when the pack of mountain bandits came home after their normal robbing people.  
>"We're home~." Dogra and Magra said together as they entered, then stopped on the spot as they noticed the three visitors.<br>"What are you doing here?" They asked and pointed at Anne.  
>"I'm visiting." She tilted her head. "You seem familiar somehow..." The two men froze and started sweating, then they quickly ran into another room.<br>"Anyway nice to meet cha!" They yelled from behind the door.

"Phew! You think she recognized us?" Dogra whispered.  
>"I sure hope not! She's scary!" Magra answered.<p>

_**/Flashback/  
><strong>__"Look over there! A young girl walking all by herself!" One of the bandits whispered to Dogra.  
>"Yosh, easy target. Let me and Magra handle this one." He answered with a confident smirk. The two of them jumped down from the tree they where hiding in, scouting for people to rob. They walked behind the girl who seemed quite stressed to get home. As they got closer they heard her mutter to herself.<br>"God I hate the dark! Kami-sama help, I'm Scared... I'll sing something to calm down... Going to deliver Bink's sake~..." She really did sound scared but the two men didn't have the time to take pity on her. They were bandits after all, it was part of their lives to make people scared. They also noticed she was wearing a bandage on her left arm, with a piece of it going around her neck to support it._

_They jumped at her with a roar, but she tripped and fell flat on her stomac in the last second so they missed and went flying in the air above her head.  
>"Oow! ...Eh? Anyone there?" She said and got up after regaining the ability to breathe properly. The two men hurried to get up themselfes, hoping to make themselfes look as threathening as possible.<br>"Give us all your money and valuables!" Magra growled.  
>"Oh thank god it's just men." The girl sighted in releif with a hand over her chest.<br>"Yeah well there's two of us so I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you." Magra said.  
>"We can take you down even if we were alone." Dogra backed up. "Little girls like you shouldn't wander around alone like this you know."<em>

_The second he had said that her stare turned ice cold.  
>"If that's true then why gang up on me huh?" She said with a low voice and stepped closer.<br>"And just what does me being a girl have anything to do with it?" She took another step closer. Magra and Dogra both froze. The girl was emitting pure rage, matching her flaming red hair. She stopped right in front of them and stared into their eyes.  
>"Men think they rule the world but you would be nothing without women!" She yelled and kicked them both in the nuts, leaving them in their pain as she went back to walking down the road.<br>__**/End of flashback/**_

"Who where those weird guys?" Anne asked.  
>"Just Magra and Dogra. They live here with us, and so does the other mountain bandits." Ace said.<br>"Hmm... I'm bored." She said and layed down on her back, staring at the ceeling.  
>"Wanna go out?" Ace asked, and Makino giggeled.<br>"My, you got bold all of a sudden Ace-chan!" As she said that, Ace froze.  
>"I-I meant go OUTSIDE! Outside! Not out..." Ace stuttered and felt blood flowing through his neck to his cheeks, coloring them bright red.<br>"Yeah sure! You coming too Luffy?" Anne sat up and noticed Luffy wasn't there anymore.  
>"Eh? Where'd he go?" She blinked and looked around. Ace, Makino and the Mayor looked aswell but couldn't see him anywere. Ace face-palmed.<p>

* * *

><p>Makino and the Mayor had headed home to Fuusha to get their daily duties done, and the two teens had gone out in the forest to find the missing Luffy. Ace hadn't been able to sit still after noticing Luffy had vanished so Anne agreed to help him look.<br>"You and your brother are really close huh?" She said with a smilie, it wasn't a question.  
>"Well yeah. He's my only brother." Ace responded and kicked a rock which seemed to large for a normal person to kick without breaking toes. "Besides he's so reckless! If I let him out of my eyesight for even a second, he always manages to get into troubble."<br>"You both get into alot of troubble, especially when you're together." Anne teased.  
>"You're one to talk... Didn't you loose your feet less then an hour ago?" Ace teased back.<br>"It doesn't count if it's done quickly!" She defended herself.  
>"What kind of resolve is that?" He said with a sweatdrop.<p>

They kept walking, passing the ruins of the tree-house Ace, Sabo and Luffy used to live in. Ace stopped and looked at it. Anne stopped aswell and followed his eyes.  
>"Woah, been a while since I last saw this place." Ace said with his hands on his hips. Anne didn't have the time to respond before a loud smash was heard from a bit futher into the woods. They hurried there, and found Luffy with half a tree on top of him. He looked up, apperently not feeling any pain.<br>"Ooh! You guys! What are you doing here?" He was smiling as always.  
>"OI LUFFY! What the hell are YOU doing?" Ace yelled and rushed to help moving the tree, followed by Anne who did the same.<br>"I was just training when this stupid tree fell on me." Luffy answered.  
>"Trees don't normally just fall randomly." Ace growled.<br>"Well it was coz I punched it." Luffy said as the tree rolled off him. "Yatta! I'm free! Thank y-"  
>"Then it's your own fault!" Ace interupted and punched Luffy in the head.<p>

Ace agreed to practise fighting with Luffy like they had done since they were kids. Luffy rubbed the large bump on his head and took his oh-so-charakteristic starting pose.  
>"<em><strong>Gomu gomu no pistol<strong>_!" He yelled and fired off his fist, making Anne clap her hands in exitement as his arm streched. Ace dodged it easaly, and leaped forward stepping past Luffy's defence. He then punched poor Luffy sending him flying several feet back before slamming into a tree.  
>"Still so weak Luffy?" Ace said with a victorious smile.<br>"Shut up! You're older then me!" Luffy defended himself with a vein popping out on his forhead.  
>"So what? There are lots of people older then you out there! Are you gonna let them kill you just 'coz they're older?" Ace yelled back. They stared with lightning at eatchother for a couple of seconds until Anne interupted them.<p>

"You guys are so cute!" She said while laughing.  
>"By the way, you've been on the sea for a while right? You must know how to fight?" Ace said.<br>"Well you kind of die if you can't defend yourself as a pirate." She said and tilted her head.  
>"Let's fight then!" Luffy said, smiling widely.<br>"Sure." She walked forward and stood two meters or so away from him.  
>"<em><strong>Gomu gomu no pistol<strong>_!" Anne took a step aside to avoid the attack then raised her hand.  
>"<em><strong>Lock.<strong>_" Water shot out of her fingers and took the shape of handcuffs around his legs, waist and arms. Luffy tried to get loose but the water drained his strenght as a devils' fruit eater.  
>"My turn." Ace declared. Anne let go of Luffy and faced Ace. She was the first to attack this time. She jumped into the air and aimed a kick at his head, but he was far to fast and easaly dodged it. He stepped behind her as she landed and kicked at her ankels. When he did this he noticed a pair of scars on eatch of then but didn't let himself get distracted.<br>Anne fell forward and tried to redeem herself by spinning around on the way down. She accedently hit Ace's feet when doing so and he fell forward himself.

Anne was on her back with the back of her head aching after hitting the ground. She looked up and noticed her chest was covered in blood. In the middle of the mess Ace was knocked out.  
>"ACE! Crap, did he break his nose?" Luffy said, oviously worried.<br>"Eh? Nose? But he didn't land on the hard ground so he should be ok..." Anne said, oviously confused and probably slightly brain damaged at the moment.  
>"But but... He fell then he screamed and held his nose then it started bleeding like crazy..." Luffy whined as though he was about to cry. A cold shiver of realisation went down Anne's spine. Several veins popped out on her forhead.<br>"Ace you PERVERT!" She yelled at the unconsious boy and tossed the poor guy off her.


	3. Boys that don't want to talk!

**Red Roulette**

"Aceee!" Luffy whined and poked his grumpy older brother. The older boy had a large band-aid on his aching nose and a pissed expression on his face.  
>"Come on Ace! Stop being so stingy already!" Luffy yelled and tried punching him, but Ace automaticly avoided it by tilting over. He really wasn't in a good mood.<br>"I completely humiliated myself."He muttered and hid his face in his hands with a grunt. Luffy sat down behind him, leaning back-to-back against him. Ace apprechiated how no matter what seemed to happen, Luffy was always there and refusing to leave him. It was comforting.

"Don't worry about it! It'll work out somehow." Luffy said. Ace chuckeled.  
>"Yeah maybe. Thanks." He responded. Dadan walked into their room and stood in front of Ace with her normal, strickt face. She was wearing a large pink nightgown.<br>"You two still up?" She said and placed her hands on her hips.  
>"What is it shitty old hag?" Ace said. A vein popped on her forhead but for once she managed to controll her anger.<br>"I heard 'bout what happend Ace." To Ace's suprise, she blushed slightly and coughed. Luffy stared at her aswell as she said:  
>"I've decided it's time we have <em><strong>the talk<strong>_." She retook her determined pose, and Ace and Luffy just stared at her in shock and fear.

Ace and Luffy stood up, perfectly synchronized in their movements. They stood there for a second or two, looking at the floor with shadows in their eyes. Then they ran for it.  
>"OI WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING YOU LITTLE BRATS!" Dadan yelled and ran after them.<br>"Shit the old hag can run fast when she wants to!" Ace yelled as he ran out of the house into the dark forest.  
>"WHO YOU CALLING HAG? WE'RE GONNA TALK WETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" She yelled and sprinted towards the two terrefied, screaming boys.<br>"GAAH~! She's catching up Ace!" Luffy screamed and Ace kicked a tree down hoping it would distract Dadan enough to allow them to escape. The tree missed her with about an inch, pissing her off even futher.

They kept on running, and before they knew it, they had reached the cliff where the forest ended. They didn't manage to stop in time and fell head first down towards the Gray Terminal.  
>"AAAAAH!" They both screamed as they fell. Dadan somehow managed to stop only a few centimeters away from the edge and yelled with a now worried voice. Luffy stopped yelling and streched his leg to kick the cliff to place himself underneith Ace. With about two meters left until they would hit the ground and Ace would turn into a bloody mess Luffy yelled:<br>"_**Gomu Gomu no Fuusen!**_" He inflated, hit the ground softly and Ace bounched on his belly, saving his life.

Luffy let the air exit him and turned back to normal. Ace sat up, perfectly unharmed, and the two looked at eatchother. Then they laughed. Dadan sighted in releif when she saw the two where unharmed.  
>"Maybe your fruit isn't completely useless after all Luffy." Ace teased.<br>"Ofcourse it isn't, stupid!" Luffy said and stuck his tounge out. Ace sighted and looked around. Even though he and Luffy were both strong fighters, the Gray Terminal wasn't exactly a smart nor safe place to be at night. Behind one of the many piles of trash something was clearly moving. He and Luffy stood up, ready to fight if neccisary.  
>To their suprise a white little baby duck tumbeled out of it and landed on it's butt. Even more to their suprise, a red haired female came out in the exact same manner. She shook her head slightly then grabbed the duckling with a single hand. The other arm was covered by a thick bandage.<p>

"Got you!" She said and smiled in a evil manner at the duck, who pinched her nose with it's beek.  
>"Ow! Stop that!" She scolded it, then hugged it with the arm her was holding it with. Ace and Luffy stared at her. She looked up and stared back.<br>"Anne!" Luffy said with a smile.  
>"What on earth are you doing here?" Ace asked.<br>"I was chasing this duck." Anne responded and held up the little duck so they could see it. Now they noticed it had a blue star-shaped mark around it's left eye.  
>"Isn't he just adorable? I love ducks! I think Im gonna call him... Hito-chan." She said with a soft voice and hugged it again. Ace and Luffy both sweatdropped.<p>

Suddenly Anne froze. She looked around, seeming suprised.  
>"When did it turn this dark?" She said with a slightly shivering voice.<br>"You didn't notice?" Ace said with yet another sweatdrop.  
>"I must have been too focused on the duck I suppose." She said with a pained expression on her face. Ace raised an eyebrow.<br>"You afraid of the dark?" He asked and Anne froze again.  
>"Eh well... a little I guess..." She muttered. A breeze came and something on the trash pile behind her fell over. She suddenly looked terrified and tripped to the ground with her hand on her head.<br>"Ok maybe not that little." She said with a choked voice and slowly got up again. Her eyes were teary when they met Ace's, and he couldn't help but want to help her. He couldn't quite cope when girls cried.

He sighted and bent down with his back facing her. Anne blinked in suprise, not quite getting what he wanted.  
>"Come on, maybe you'll feel a bit safer if I carry you." Ace muttered not taking his eyes off the ground. Anne smiled and giggeled.<br>"Piggy back ride? Really?" She chuckeled. Ace blushed but didn't move.  
>"Hop on already or walk home alone!" He said and felt her climb up on his back. Her body felt kind of weird, she was pretty hard from muscles but she was softer then any male for sure. He though and started walking.<br>The baby duck quacked from her hand and she placed it on her head. It seemed suprised over its new position at first but then made itself comfortable in the messy red hair. Anne gently placed her healthy arm around Ace's neck to keep herself from tipping backwards.

Luffy insisted they should 'rocket' up the cliff instead of taking the safe road. And by insisting I mean he grabbed them both and just did it without asking.  
>After the painfull crash landing and scolding the three of them started making their way through the pitch black woods. The darker it got, the more Anne clang to Ace. He didn't mind at all, he even enjoyed it, but he still wanted to know why she was so scared.<br>"Oi, Anne. Why are you so afraid of the dark? It's not dangerous." He asked.  
>"I can't help it..." Anne whispered into his shoulder. She took a deep breath.<br>"When I was a kid, my father locked me and my mother up in our basement." Ace could feel her shivering slightly and started regretting asking.  
>"He turned off the lights completely. I've never liked the dark, but I was never really scared of it back then. I'm not sure how much time went by but... after a while he lit a candle and shoved me the head of my mother." Ace stopped walking and so did Luffy, who had heard aswell.<p>

"He had killed her without me even noticing... she didn't scream so I wouldn't be scared..." Ace's shoulder was now moist from her tears. She took a deep breath again.  
>"I'm sorry I shouldn't tell you about this I don't know why I did..." She said and swallowed.<br>"Don't worry about it. I was the one who asked." Ace said and went back to walking.

* * *

><p>"WAKE UP TIME!" Dadan charged into the room but stopped on the spot when she spotted the kids on the futons. She stared in suprise for a couple of seconds. Then smiled a pretty creepy Dadan-smile.<br>The two futons were messy as hell. Ace was sleeping with his arms and legs spread out in every direktion, and on his belly Luffy had rolled up drooling on Ace's belly. Next to him, Anne was with her head on Ace's arm cuddling a baby duck. All three of them where snoring loudly.  
>Dadan chuckeled slightly and existed the room.<p>

Ace opened his eyes slowly several hours later. The sunshine from the rooms only window was shining straight into his eyes. He yawned and tried to move, and the baby duck woke up and escaped from Anne's arms.

Anne grunted, still half asleep but still noticed how the warm ball she had held the entire night now was missing. She reached out her hand with her eyes still closed and searched for it. She felt something warm and fuzzy and put her arms around it and pressed it against her chest. _Weird, feels alot bigger then before. Oh well probably just imagenation._ She though and went back to sleep.

Ace's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. He started sweating and didn't dare to move. He spent about half a minute trying to understand what was goin on. Then, he spent another whole minute trying to figure out what to do. He decided to attempt escape. He had his nose stuck between the soft bumps on Anne's chest. They weren't big at all but apperently they were still able to suffocate him.  
>Desperate for air he tried to grab her arm to realese her grip on his head. He managed to grab it and could move his head enough to catch his breath. He took a relieved sight and looked up.<p>

Anne was looking at him with groggy eyes. She rubbed them with her hand then looked again. Her eyes went wide and her hand rushed trough the air towards Ace's face.

"Could someone tell me why Ace is all grumpy again?" Dadan said at breakfast with a not-amused face at breakfast. Luffy was, as always, stuffing his face worse then anyone else in the backround. Ace was eating slower then normally and he had a big red hand shaped mark on his right cheek.  
>"Whunnow." <em><strong>(Don't know)<strong>_Luffy said. Anne who was sitting next to him, put down her plate and crawled on her three funktioning limbs (to lazy to stand up in order to move sutch a small distance) over to Ace.

"Naah Ace, cheer up already. I've already forgiven you." She said with a smile and sat down on her knees behind him.  
>"Oi, aren't I the one who should do the forgiving here?" He sweatdropped. She suprised him by putting her right hand on his shoulder and started to massage it.<br>"W-what the heck?" He stuttered, with his face turning red.  
>"Relax. You'll feel better then." She said simply. Ace, whom had no expierence with getting massages didn't quite know what to do. All of a sudden, the rubbing got painfully rough. A loud CRACK echoed through the room and Ace yelled in pain. He escaped and pointed at her with a shocked look on his face.<br>"OI You bastard! What kind of massage is that? It's hard enough to break bones!" He yelled.  
>"Come back! It's healthy!" Anne yelled back and chased him around the room.<br>"There's so fricken way that can be healthy!" Ace screamed while running. Luffy laughted at the furious chase and Dadan kept on drinking her sake with a slightly amused face.

The chase basicly ended with Anne tripping over her own feet, falling flat on her nose.  
>"Yeowch." She said, sat up and rubbed the bleeding nose. "By the way Dadan, can I borrow your bath before I go back to town?" She asked with blood stains all over her face.<br>"Yeah sure, just clean after yourself." Dadan said with a sweatdrop, wondering if the girl was gonna be alright.  
>"I will, thanks!" Anne said, brushed the dust of her skrirt and walked into the bathroom.<p>

* * *

><p>"Oi, Ace." Dadan said. Ace turned towards her.<br>"Hm?" He noticed Dadan was atleast a little drunk from the sake she had been drinking all morning.  
>"Geez don't drink alchohol if you can't handle it stupid." He scolded her.<br>"Shut your trap, I'm an adult I can drink all I want! Ace, you like Anne don't yah?" She said with a sly smile. Ace twitched.  
>"Oi what do you mean? Shut up." He said calmly but with a wee bit of blush on his cheeks.<br>"Oh puh-lease!" Dadan laughed and took another large zip of sake. "I've taken care of you since you were a little baby, I'm practically your mom by now... I can tell." She was really drunk by now, she could barly keep her balance.

"Tsk, you only took care of me because Garp forced you to. You're no mother of mine." Ace growled. Dadan stood up on her unsteady feet and chugged the rest of the sake.  
>"Details, details!" Dadan answered and dropped her little sake-cup on the floor. She then patted him on the head and walked off.<br>"What the hell was that?" Ace said and tilted his head.  
>"Ah~ I'm full!" Luffy said with a satisfyed smile and patted his huge belly.<br>"You ate my share too you idiot!" Ace scolded and hit his brother in the head, causing a huge bump to pop out.

Dadan stumbeled into the bathroom. She looked around and found the red haired girl sitting on the floor. Dadan now saw a tattoo on her back. It was a pair of white wings, and also she noticed four large scars; one on eatch wrist and ankle. The girl was scrubbing the dirt off her legs and didn't seem to notice the large lady at the door. Her bandaged arm was wrapped in plastic.  
>"Hmmm I envy you young girls and your slim little bodies." Dadan sighted and sat down infront of her. Anne looked up slightly suprised.<br>"But I like body fat. It's softer." Anne responded and Dadan pointed at the girls scars.  
>"You're a weird kid... Pretty even though you lack curves, but it's too bad you have those scars, gonna be hard to get a man with them." Dadan said. Anne straightened her back.<br>"I'm perfectly fine without a man. Besides I don't want one who only cares about looks in the first place." She muttered.

"Hmmm is that so." Dadan scratched her head. Anne stood up and sat down in the wooden barrel they used instead of a tub. She put her hands on the water surface and looked concentrated. Dadan raised her head, trying to see what she was up to.  
>"What are you doing?" She asked. Anne didn't look up.<br>"I'm trying to learn of some way to sence things that's underwater. I want to know if it's possible." She said and closed her eyes.  
>Dadan raised an eyebrow, struggeled to get on her feet then left the room just to find Ace and Luffy wrestling on the floor outside the door.<p>

"Grow up already will yah!" She yelled and kicked them. "Stupid brats."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not sure why but Anne tends to press the things she likes against her chest in protactive manner~ Hope you liked this chapter! Took forever to write since I didn't want certain parts to end up too awkward... I know there are spelling and gramatic errors but I do try my best! Reweivs highly apprechiated ^^<strong>

**Anyway here's a (very short) list of japanese words again~:  
>Hito = personhuman. Which is why it's not a very good name for a duck xD**


	4. Holy crap

**Red Roulette**

"I'll definitley defeat you!" the short boy with a very serious look in his round eyes yelled at the older boy standing a few feet in front of him. The older boy snorted and raised his fists and took a pose very similair to the boy challenging him. They stared at eatchother for a couple of seconds, with every single serious-moment-anime-effect going on in the back round.  
>"Yaay! Kick his ass Luffy!" Anne cheered, radiating a happy-go-lucky mood, officially ruening the serious tension.<br>"Oi! Since when have you picked sides?" Ace barked at her. She just smiled and waved at him from the crown of the tree witch she had convinced Ace to help her climb earlier.  
>"YOSH!" Luffy yelled and a rock twice the size of a normal human flew through the air and just barly missed Ace's head.<br>"WHAT THE HELL! You cheater! We hadn't begun yet!" Ace screamed and instantly knocked him out with a furious jump-kick.  
>"Aw man, now I owe Dadan 5000 beli." Anne said with a sight. A vein on Ace's forhead popped.<br>"Don't go betting on me losing with that old hag!" He said and she laughed.

They we're walking towards a big lake Luffy wanted to go fish for crocodiles in, witch he had been nagging them to go do since early morning.  
>"Ace is moody again... Wonder if it's those homoronias Makino was talking about." Luffy said shamelessly.<br>"That's _hormones_ you idiot, and no it is not." Ace said with a sweat drop, wondering just how much his IQ-less brother would be able to learn of all the weird stuff Makino wanted to teach him.

They arrived at the lake, witch really was big. The waves were beautifulily decorating the blue watersurface. Along the beach, there was both soft sand and cliffs reaching out so one could dive directly into deep water.  
>Luffy gave of a sound of exitement and rushed down to the sandy shore. He hunched down and poked the surface.<br>"I really wish i could swim sometimes." He pouted. Ace sighted and Anne walked up next to him. His eyes nearly popped out of his skull when she suddenly started removing the oversized shirt and baggy pants she was wearing today.  
>"O-oi! What are you doing crazy woman?" He barked but she ignored him.<br>"What? I'm wearing a bikini you pervert." She said and stuck her tounge out at him.  
>"It's been a while since I got to play... I mean got some real exercise in the water." She continued and Ace sweatdropped.<p>

"Aren't you gonna go into the water too Ace?" She asked while carefully wrapping her bandaged arm in plastic bags.  
>"I will later. Besides, Luffy would be jealous." Ace responded. Luffy smiled happily at his caring brother, who snorted slightly emberassed.<br>"Oh well! Suit yourself, the temperature is great!" She laughed and ran into the water. Only a few meters out she tripped and then litterly flew out.  
>"It's fricking cold!" She yelled.<br>"Then don't say the temperature is good before you've tested!" Ace said with a facepalm. But Anne just happily dived back in.

"Look Ace! Crokodile!" Luffy pointed and began aiming a _**Gumo Gumo no Pistol**_ at the green beast. Ace froze and though about Anne who was still somewhere under the water. She hadn't come up for a while now had she? What if the croco had gotten her? Worried, he tossed his shirt aside (since he never bothers to button his shirts anymore, it went really fast to get it off) and rushed into the water.  
>Before he had gotten far a loud rumble was heard from the lake's center. A malstrom showed up, growing larger and flowing faster by the second.<br>"Holy shit!" Ace yelled and tried hard to stay on his feet in the streamy water. The body of a crocodile came flying out of it, crashing into some of the rocks on the shore. Another body came after, this one far smaller, and it was clearly human. The malstrom dissolved and the human landed on her butt on the surface, stayed there for a second then sank through.

"Man, that made me super dizzy!" Anne said, still not able to keep her balance and therefor keeping her arm glued around Ace's shoulders to stay standing. The bandages on her damaged arm had been ripped off in the current so she carefully pressed it against her side. The arm was pale, weak from not being used in a long time and still swollen.  
>"Be gratefull you didn't get killed, normally people don't survive swimming into those things you know." The soaking wet Ace muttered. He had gone in after all, to fetch Anne before she drowned on the bottom of the lake.<br>"That's alot coming from you, you seem to survive all kinds of stuff too." Anne muttered back.  
>"Ace just worries too much." Luffy said loudly. "I didn't know those big swirly-swirly things could pop up in lakes! Shanks told me about them on the sea though."<br>"They don't. The water is too calm. I made it to attack the crocodile that was going to attack me." Anne said and tried to stand on her own, but failed and fell back on Ace.  
>"I still haven't gotten very good at controlling my fruit, but if i have alot of water nearby fighting isn't a problem." She smiled.<br>"I wonder if I can learn how to controll rubber around me..." Luffy said.  
>"For what technique? <em><strong>Gomu gomu no gomu<strong>_?" Ace laughed.

* * *

><p>Heading back home to have Dadan cook them dinner, with the tail of the cocodile on one shoulder Ace looked at Anne in the corner of his eye. He hadn't realized until now they hadn't let eatchother go yet. Up front, Luffy was carrying the green head and upper body. He was humming on a song Ace couldn't quite identify he just heard something about saké.<br>Anne had a spaced out look on her face and didn't seem to look at anything particulair.  
>A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Ace's neck, he blushed slightly and carefully placed his free arm around her waist. This seemed to wake her up from her dozy state of mind, and she looked at him with suprised blue eyes, but then she closed them and mumbeled:<br>"Sorry, I forgot to thank you for saving me before."  
>"If i hadn't, Luffy would cry." Ace whispered.<br>"Is that really the only reason why?" She said.  
>"Not really... I'd be sad too. I'll never let my friends die." He said and looked at her.<br>"I see, that's a wonderfull resolve." She smiled gently.

When they were almost at the house, they bumped into a very nervous looking Dadan.  
>"What took you so long to come home you brats? I really though I was going to die here!" She scolded them and they looked at her with confused expressions.<br>"What are you talking about shitty hag? You never tell us to go home." Ace said.  
>"Don't talk to me like that! Makino came to visit while you were gone, and she told me Garp-san is coming! Any minute now! How am I supposted to explain if you're both missing?" She explained in a harsh tone that had no effect on the brothers. What did effect them however was one small part of a sentance.<br>"Garp... is coming?" The color on Ace's face was retreating quickly.  
>"Jii-chan is?" Luffy said, with the same horrifyed expression on his face as Ace had.<br>"Missed me so much you can't wait even a minute to see me?" A loud, dark voice said behind them.

Ace and Luffy where working desperatly to avoid their grandfathers hug/fists of doom... I mean _love_. Anne was staring at the old man. The veteran marine turned towards her and raised a eyebrow.  
>"Oi, little lady, you survived I see. What a coinscidence you ended up here of all places." He said with his masculine voice. She straightened her back and gave him a cold look.<br>"Fate sure has a sence of humor sometimes." She muttered and Garp laughed.  
>"Sure does! I don't like fighting children..."<br>_"That's a total lie."_Luffy, Ace and Dadan though at the same time.

"...but I'll have to catch you or there wont be a end to the complaining. I can't let you go just because you're young." Garp said and scratched his head.  
>"I never asked you to." Anne growled and rose her good hand. Garp smiled again.<br>"You got guts. I like that." He said and rose his own fists and took fighting position. Ace, Luffy and Dadan stared at them with confused expressions.

* * *

><p><strong>There! Sorry it took a while, and ended up way shorter then I hoped... (stuff looks way longer in wordpad) but the next chapter will be out soon I promise! Let me know if you liked it, or if you dont, I'm very happy people read my stuff either way! <strong>

**I love Garp! He's so epic! If only I was an old lady so I could marry him *dreams*. Oh by the way, am I the only one super super curious about who Luffy's grandmother is? I have this (crazy) theory about Nyon-ba from Amazon lily...**

**Short explaination of words, I think all of you know these but can't be sure enough:  
>Gomu gomu no...: "Rubber rubber", this is what Luffy names all this attacks followed by the attacks special feature (often based on its resemblance to a wepon).<br>Jii-chan = Cute way of saying "grandfather".**


	5. Red cherry

**Red Roulette**

"_**Blood puppeteir.**_" Anne whispered and Garp twitched. Two seconds later he rose his eyebrow and jumped at the girl. He grabbed her inured arm and picked her up, holding her in only the broken arm about a meter over the ground. Anne screamed in horrible pain. Luffy jumped forward and punched his grandfather in the head. The old man barly seemed to feel it, but he looked at the kid who screamed at him:

"Let her go Jii-san! She's our friend!"  
>"Friend? You shouldn't be friends with criminals Luffy." Garp said stricktly.<br>"I don't care if she's a criminal or not! I will be a pirate one day anyway! She's done nothing wrong! Let her down!" Luffy yelled.  
>"Let her down you shitty old geezer." Ace growled from behind Luffy, he had his eyes focused on Garps, exchanging intense glares. Garps serious face loosened up.<br>"I can tell you won't forgive me if I don't." He lowered the girl to the ground. She had stopped screaming, and stumbeled away from the old man with a pained look on her face and her broken arm hanging.

"He's the one who wrecked my ship." Anne said to Ace. "Threw a freaking canonball on it." Ace wasn't suprised. The old man had shown him plenty proof of his insane strenght, and Ace was used to inhuman strenght, both him and Luffy had it afterall.  
>"Well then Dadan." Garp announced while dusting his hands off. "Where do you keep the booze?"<p>

* * *

><p>It was now late at night, Ace was sitting next to the sleeping old marine soldeir. He was considdering wether or not it would be worth it to doodle on his face with a pen. He heard a low noice and saw that Luffy had been quicker to decide then he. He smirked and decided he couldn't have his little brother showing he had bigger balls then he did.<p>

Anne was sleeping curled up next to Garp. To Ace's horror, the two of them had gotten along suprisingly well after talking and she really liked him. Her arm had been neatly treated again by the doctor down in Fuusha. Luckily, the bones hadn't been moved much, just squeezed. She had also changed clothes and was now wearing a 80-ies looking kneelong skirt and a tanktop.  
>Ace looked at her for a second. Then smirked even more and drew a big mustache above her lips and on her cheeks. Luffy laughed loudly at it and Ace admired Luffys work on Garp - feces on one cheek, spirals on the other and the word 'POO' written in large hiragana on his forhead. They where both so very mature after all.<p>

Dadan was walking around aimlessly in the house, clearly drunk. She was mumbling to herself and acting kind of creepy.  
>Ace yawned, starting to feel sleepy himself. Luffy chuckeled next to him and walked to Ace in a stealthing manner. Ace raised his eyebrow at the bottle in Luffy's hands.<br>"Want some? It's saké." Luffy asked while opening the wrapping.  
>"Sure, saké is really tasty." Ace said, suprised Luffy accually intended to share something edible, and took the bottle Luffy was offering him and put the opening to his lips.<br>"You have a seriously messed up sence of taste." Anne suddenly stated and Ace nearly choked on a mouthfull of the booze in suprise.  
>"Have you tried it?" Ace said with a low voice, still recovering from the burn in his troath the saké caused.<br>"Yes. It's to bitter, I prefer sweet tastes." She said and sat up with her arms around her legs.  
>"This is cherry-flavored." Ace said.<br>"For real? I didn't know they made that! Let me taste some!" Anne squeeled and Ace handed her the bottle. She drank, and her eyes sparkeled.  
>"Tasty~!"<br>"Oii! Let me have some already!" Luffy whined and snatched the bottle from Anne by stretching his arms.  
>"Don't chug it all!" Ace scolded Luffy and hit him when he filled his oversized mouth with about half of the bottles contence at once.<p>

Ace was just swallowing the last zip of the sweet drink when Luffy suddenly laid down and instantly fell asleep on the floor. Ace felt like doing the same, it was already past 3 am by now. He was just about to do it when he heard Anne's hick up. He turned his head in her direction and looked at her. It was very hard not to laugh at the drawn on mustache.  
>"You're not drunk are you? You only had one zip of it." He teased in a low voice.<br>"Mnhm... Oh shaddap you..." She mumbeled and swayed a little. She was sitting with her legs pulled up towards her belly, and to Ace's suprise her panties where clearly visable from where he was sitting.  
>The alchohol hadn't had any big effect on him, since he has a higher resistance then most normal people, so this made him really emberassed.<p>

He blushed and tried hard not to stare, he even turned his head away and closed his eyes. He couldn't resist for too long and opened one eye to see if she had moved, and jumped when he saw that she had crawled up right in front of him. She glared at him with dozy eyes and red cheeks. Once again, he could barly keep himself from laughing out loud, that mustache looked super missfitting on her!  
>They stayed like that for a awkward couple of seconds, then she swifted her weight to her knees so she could lean forward put her arm around Ace's neck. She pushed her chest and belly against his, and the hug made his heart feel really warm.<p>

"What are you doing?" He mumbeled, afraid his tounge was going to fail him if he tried to speak louder.  
>"Quiet, I like to hug people I like." She said and burried her nose in his hair, just behind the ear. Behind the scent of the cherry saké there was a modest, sweet smell coming from her.<br>"You smell like lemon tea." He whispered and without thinking sniffed her neck.  
>"It's my favorite." She said and looked him in the eyes. Her eyes where like deep, blue oceans to him when they met his dark brown ones. He grabbed her face and rubbed the drawn mustache off her face, ignored her suprised complaint over the to her random action, and his mind went blank. All he knew was that her face was getting closer to his.<br>Their lips where only a couple of milimeters away from eatchother when the loud sound of glass breaking came from behind Anne.  
>They turned towards the source of the sound, and saw that one of the windows on the wall had been broken and there was a small duck taped to a rock on the floor.<p>

"Hito-chan? What happend to you?" Worried and suprised, Anne jumped over to where the duckling was lying. She carefully removed the tape and gently held the little creature in her hand close to her chest. The duck who seemed to have recovered from the shocking experience quacked loudly and jumped into her tank top, where it took the shape of a small round bump between her breasts as it hid itself.  
>Ace picked up the rock and trew it, straight through the glass of another window with a pissed look on his face. Dadan came rushing in and stared at the mess, apperently she had sobered up some by now.<p>

"What the hell happend in here?" She yelled at Ace.  
>"A rock came through the window." He responded, still pissed over getting interupted.<br>"Oh I see. Wait a minute! Why are two windows broken if there was only one rock?" She yelled.  
>"I threw it back out through the second window." He said.<br>"Oh I see. Wait a minute! Why the hell did you do that?" She said and lauched a punch at him, witch he blocked.  
>"Oi oi oi, breakfast already?" Garp whom had finally woken up said with a yawn.<br>"How did you not wake up from two windows breaking right next to you, monster ossan?" Ace muttered.  
>"Luffy is still asleep though." Anne said and pointed at the snoring teen boy on the floor.<p>

Ace went outside to go see if there was any trace of whoever it was that had trown the rock. To be completely honest, he did it mostly to clear his mind from what happend earlier. He's not the kind of person who you know... _thinks_ alot, but right now his brain felt like a box filled with angry bees.  
>He stopped when he saw a shadow in a bush a couple of meters away from the broken windows. He walked closer, and saw an unconsious man on the ground. The man had a vound on his forhead and the rock from earlier was next to his head.<br>It did not require assistance from Vega Punk to figure out what had happend.

* * *

><p>Silence.<br>The man had woken up, and was now sipping tea from a cup inside the house in a traditional manner. There was a bandage on his head where the rock had hit him. Anne was standing in front of him with fire in her eyes and a pissed off duck on her head. Accually, Anne and the duck looked very similair somehow when they where in the same mood.

"Oi. Exactly what did you do to my Hito-chan?" She growled, and the duck quacked angrily to back her up.  
>"I had to get your attention somehow, so I decided to use your pet." The man answered with a true pokerface.<br>"You better give me a good reason why you hurt my beloved duck, or I wont show any mercy." Anne said and a evil aura was coming from her, the red hair made her look like a demon in human form. Ace and Luffy twiched when they noticed, man girls can be scary!  
>"The rock alone would be enough to get our attention you know." Dadan said and the man looked up.<br>"...Oh I see!" He said and looked really suprised, pissing off the lot of them, especially Anne.

The man put down his cup of tea, witch they weren't sure of how he had obtained since none of them had given it to him, and he turned to Ace. He suprised them by bowing and handing over a letter to Ace.  
>"What's this?" Ace asked as he took the paper from the man.<br>"It's a letter of challenge. From my boss." The man said. "He wants to fight you tomorrow evening."  
>"Hmm? Is that so... Where at?" Ace muttered.<br>"The location and time is written inside the letter. He didn't tell me anything besides your name and where you lived."  
>Ace opened the envelope and had just started reading the letter inside when the man stood up.<p>

"I'll be making my leave now if you don't mind, I need to get back before my nakama starts to worry about me." He said and started walking towards the door.  
>"Wait a second!" Someone yelled and he turned around to instanly receive a blow to his nose. He fell back with a spray of blood coming from it and landed on his rear end on the floor. He put his hand over it and stared at the girl glaring at him.<br>"What on earth are you doing, woman?" He yelled.  
>"You hurt my friend, so I'm hurting you." She growled. The man looked at her sceptically then remembered the duck who he had taped to the rock earlier.<br>"Huh? You call a duck your _friend_? It's just an animal for gods sake!" He said.  
>"And humans are not a type of animal? Don't be so full of yourself. Now get out of my sight before I punch you again." She said and he looked quite defeated, then hurried out of there.<p>

"Maaan I'm sleepy!" Luffy said and fell backwards to the floor. "G'night!" He said and instantly fell asleep. Ace and Dadan sweatdropped and Anne giggeled.  
>"Amen to that boy." Garp yawned and laied down next to his grandson, falling asleep just as fast as Luffy had. Ace sighted and went to sleep aswell.<br>"Geez, what a family huh?" Dadan muttered with a smile to Anne, who giggeled.  
>"Un. What a family."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Yohohoho! Typical anime moment I threw in there no? *Points at the drunk scene*. I couldn't help myself, I freaking love them! \(^o^)**

**SFX (explaination of japanese words used etc.):  
>Ossan = rude way to say "old man"<br>Nakama = comrade, a very close friend who you have a strong sence of solidarity with, for example someone who's in the same crew as you.**


	6. Goin' comando

**Red Roulette**

_Dark. She felt unfortable and tried to move but her hands and feet where tied to the chair she was sitting on. It was so dark she couldn't even see her knees when she looked down. Someone was whispering nearby, but it was too low of a voice for her to be able to hear who it was or what it was saying. She felt scared and tried to break free as quietly as possible.  
>The whispering came back, this time followed by a low sadistic giggle. The fear in her chest grew larger and she felt sick. The ropes cut her skin as she desperately struggeled with them.<br>The whispers vanished, but a small metalic sound was heard. She also heard splashing as some fluid hit the floor. The modest light from a burning candle lit up the bloodstained face of her father, standing over the beheaded corpse of her beloved mother. Her father smiled at her as she screamed._

"WAAAAAAAAAH!" Anne sat straight up, panting. She catched her breath and looked around her. Ace, Luffy, Dadan, Garp and all the mountain bandits had been eating breakfast when she had woken up screaming, and now they all stared at her.  
>"You okay Anne? Why are you screaming?" Luffy said with a serious, worried look. Anne reminded herself she was among friends and felt her body relax as she was starting to feel safe again. She took a deep breath and got up from where she had been sleeping.<br>"I'm ok, just a nightmare." She said and forced herself to smile.  
>"Must've been a bad one." Dadan muttered. Ace just gave her several questioning looks and she noticed he kept his eyes on her when they ate.<p>

"Alright. I'll be heading back to my ship now. They're gonna yell at me if I stay too long." Garp announced.  
>"Haven't you already?" Ace muttered.<br>"Huuh? What's that Ace?" Garp said in a treathening tone. "You don't want your grandfather around, ungrateful brat?"  
>"Tsk. You don't do anything for us you old geezer." Ace growled but instantly regretted it when he realized what he had said wouldn't go unpunished. Garp warmed up his fist, then sent Ace flying through the wall, leaving a big hole.<br>"Oi! Jii-chan! Don't hit Ace!" Luffy yelled.  
>"You wanna fly too Luffy?" Garp said and smiled.<br>"Sounds fun!" Luffy said with a smile and Dadan facepalmed.

"Well take care best you can!" Garp yelled and waved as he walked down the road towards where the marines had anchored.  
>"Bye Garp-san!" Anne yelled back with a big smile. "He's so cool!" She giggeled. Ace who had a big lump on his head muttered something foul and went back inside.<p>

* * *

><p>The day went by without anything special happening. They patched up the wall, hunted down a couple of deers for lunch, sparred in the woods and took a nap. The sun was about to go down when Ace remembered the challenge he had received the night before.<br>"I'm gonna come and watch! It's been a while now since someone sent a challenge." Luffy said when Ace was just about to leave.  
>"You guys must be rather famous in these areas huh?" Anne laughed and waved at them as they left.<p>

Ace and Luffy where walking side by side. In the letter it was written that they where to meet by the lake. When they got there they saw a man dressed in a long black robe standing on the beach. The moon behind him was large and it shone beautifully.  
>Ace walked closer while Luffy stayed back, since he was only there to watch he wanted to stay out of their way.<br>"I've been waiting for you. My name is Takihara." The man said.  
>"You're the one who wanted a fight huh?" Ace said. The man turned his head to Luffy.<br>"You didn't come alone?"  
>"Don't mind him, he's my brother and he wanted to come watch. He won't interfear." Ace responded and Luffy nodded.<p>

They began the fight, and Takihara was the first to attack. He swung a large iron club which had a blade attached to one of its' sides. Ace dodged several attacks but the man was very skilled. The blade cut straight through the skin on Ace's left leg. The blood pumped out of the wound but Ace quickly recovered his control and didn't let the pain distract him.  
>Ace jumped and punched at Takihara's head who didn't manage to block it properly.<p>

The fight went at it for about ten minutes, and both Ace and Takihari got plenty injured by eatchother. Ace finally got the finishing blow after sending Takihari's club flying with a spin-kick.

"That was awesome Ace!" Luffy yelled. Ace smiled and felt the satisfaction and joy of victory spread inside him. Takihari stood up.  
>"I'm not strong enough to beat you after all." He smiled. "I'm going back to my nakama. We will probably meet again somewhere." Then he wandered off before Ace got the chance to respond.<p>

Ace yawned loudly. His body was sore from the fight and it longed for a good meal and sleep. His leg was still bleeding even though the other cuts and bruises had stopped hurting by now... well almost stopped.  
>"We better hurry home so we can bandage your leg Ace. Why won't it stop bleeding?" Luffy whined.<br>"I don't know. It's not very deep so it should stop soon. Maybe it's just because I move too much. We're almost home any..." A strong scent of smoke stopped Ace from finishing his sentance. The forest was very thick were they currently where, the trees reached far up and there was little space between them. Because of this they couldn't see the source of the fire but they prayed it wasn't half of the mountain's vegitabilty about to burn down. It had accually happend once according to Dadan.

Ace and Lufffy rushed along the thin path which lead from the lake all the way to Dadan's house. When they where about half a kilometer away the forest wasn't as old anymore and the treetops weren't as high. They could now see a thick, black pillar of smoke, and to their horror it was placed where Dadan's house was.  
>They ran the last of the way, fearing Dadan, Anne and the bandits would be in danger.<p>

Ace and Luffy reached the house and shock stuck them.  
>All of the bandits where dancing around a large, burning pile of wood dancing and cheering. Dadan was drinking sake and Anne was singing a cheerful melody. It was horribly false but nobody seemed to care.<br>Dadan was the first to notice them.  
>"Yo! You finally came back eh? Don't just stand there - join the party already!" She yelled and waved. The bandits all waved in the middle of their strange woodo-looking dance.<br>"Come, come! Join, join!" They chanted. Ace facepalmed. Should have known with these idiots.  
>"You made me worry you bastards!" He yelled.<p>

* * *

><p>"Sooo?" Anne purred. She had placed herself far away from the fire to make sure she didn't accedently turn into steam... again, and Ace sat next to her.<br>"Hm?" Ace looked up from his steak. He had bandages and band-aids covering his leg and about a third of the rest of his body.  
>"How'd the fight go?" She asked with exitement. Ace sweatdropped at how her eyes sparkeled.<br>"If you wanted to watch why didn't you come like Luffy did?" He said with a smirk.  
>"But I promised Dadan to help her put this suprise party together." She said with a sight.<br>"Alright, I won." Ace said and took a big bite from his steak.  
>"Aww. Bummer." Anne muttered and a vein popped on Ace's forhead.<br>"Why you! Why don't you want me to win?" He growled.  
>"Because you always win, even over me." She pouted.<br>"Bad loser eh?" Ace's anger had gone away as the opening to tease her appeared.  
>"Shut up you!" She blushed and defended herself. "I am not!"<p>

"Look boss, they're at it again." Magra laughed and pointed at Ace and Anne who where half yelling half laughing over by the wall of the house.  
>"Wherever do these youths get their energy I wonder. Ah, I remember when I was a young maiden..." Dadan sighted and Magra and Dogra groaned when she started blabbering about her youthful days. She did that alot when she was drunk.<p>

After satisfying his hunger Ace noticed his head was suddenly feeling alot lighter then normally. His limbs felt weak when he moved them and his vision was shifting.  
>"Man... I must really be sleepy..." He mumbeled and tried to get up but his left leg wouldn't move. As a result, he fell down to the ground. It didn't hurt, nothing seemed to hurt right now.<br>"Ace? Are you ok?" Anne asked and bent down over him. His head suddenly felt thick and heavy and he couldn't think straight at all. Black dots started spreading in front of him, blocking his vision and soon everything was dark and quiet.

"Ace!" Luffy yelled and shook his brother. Dadan stared at the blood coming from Ace's left leg.  
>"His leg still haven't stopped bleeding? If we don't do something he'll bleed to death!" She said and the horrifying thought struck her like a train at full speed. She recovered from the shock quickly however, and the determination to save him made her mind clear.<br>"Luffy, you run and grab a doctor from the village..." She barly got to finish the sentance before Luffy set of at full speed.  
>"...Anne, you help me try to stop the bleeding." Dadan ordered and grabbed Ace and lifted him up. If he was consious he'd kill her for this but she didn't have the time to worry about his honor.<p>

She carried him inside and put him down on a futon. Anne rushed to her with all the bandages she could find and sat down on her knees next to the injured knee. She grabbed the fabric in the shorts over the wound and pulled it upwards so she could see it. It wouldn't let her pull it far up enough however so without thinking twice she pulled the shorts of completely instead.  
>Now, the possibility that Ace would be going comando had never occured to neither Dadan nor Anne. So yeah, it was quite the jaw-dropping moment for them both.<p>

Getting somewhat over the emberassment and after placing a towel over the source of it, they ripped off his old bandages, quickly washed the wound and wrapped it in a thick layer new ones. They had made sure to pull them extra hard to force the blood flow to stop and they also placed the leg on a large pile of pillows.  
>Luffy came running inside with the doctor who had taken care of Anne's arm. In fact, Luffy was carrying the doctor who was practically screaming.<p>

"Let me down, boy! Why are you kidnapping me?" He yelled and Luffy dropped him on the floor, pointed at Ace and yelled:  
>"WORK! Please save Ace!" followed by falling down on his knees and slamming his head against the floor in a ungraceful bow. The doctor sighted and went to examine Ace.<p>

"Low blood preasure, appears to have bled alot... Tell me what happend." The doctor said while lifting and pressing various parts of Ace's body.  
>"He was dueling his guy and the guy cut his leg but it wasn't deep but it wouldn't stop bleeding." Luffy said in a rapid speed, the doctor nodded and pressed to fingers against the bandaged areas.<br>"Either he has serious leukemia or he's been poisioned." He stated and took a shot covered in plastic out of his pocket. He took a blood samlple from Ace's arm and put it back in his pocket.  
>"Poision?" Dadan gasped.<br>"Don't worry, it's not the kind of deadly poision you think it is. It's a poision that keeps the blood from hardening witch is how the body stops bleeding. But the poisions speading ability is very low so it's only a local poisioning." The doctor stood up and walked into the room where Dadan keeps her herbs and spices for cooking.

"This is going to hurt when he wakes up." The doctor said without a trace of compassion in his voice, removed the bandages and scrubbed the wound with wool drenched in salt, dried garlic and flour. The bloodflow accually stopped.  
>"The salt and garlic kills potential bacterias and cleanses, the flour absorbs the poision." He explained and Luffy, Dadan and Anne took a deep breath in releif when they noticed he had accually stopped bleeding.<br>"When he wakes up, make him eat lots of strawberries, bloody meat and spinache. He needs all the iron he can get." The doctor said and washed up.  
>"Thanks Doc!" Luffy said with a big smile.<br>"Remeber I told you my name isn't..." The doctor began but was interupted by a one armed glomp from Anne.  
>"You're so great! First you save me and now Ace! Thank you Doc!" She squeeled and the doctor sighted but smiled.<p>

* * *

><p>Waking up in a dark room with a hurting head Ace wondered what had happend. He couldn't remember going to bed even though he knew it was dark outside in his last memories. He couldn't move but the futon he was in was so warm and nice he didn't mind it the slightest.<br>Then the pain came. In a flash burning pain from his left leg appeared. He tensed up and the warm futon didn't feel comfortable anymore, now it was all just painfull. He wanted to move but something was weighing him down. He struggeled for a bit and managed to lift his head and torso up enough to see what it was holding him down. His jaw dropped.

Ropes where covering his chest and arms and his guards - Luffy and Anne - where both asleep with their heads on his stomach.  
>"Oi! What the hell? Wake up you two!" Ace yelled and moved as much as he could to wake them up. Anne was the first to wake up.<br>"Schh! Don't wake Luffy up! He sat there all night watching you." She whispered.  
>"If he was the one watching me then why are you sleeping on my stomach aswell?" Ace whispered back.<br>"I didn't want him to feel lonly. Your belly is the most uncomfortable ever by the way." She muttered.  
>"Well excuse me for being uncomfortable. Now do explain... Why the fuck am I tied up?" He growled.<br>"Because you'd want to move around but you can't." She whispered, took a hold of one of his shoulders and pressed him back down on his back.

Her hair tickeled his cheeks while she bent over him with her face close to his.  
>"Look, you were seriously wounded earlier. The guy you fought had a poisioned blade." She whispered and he could practically taste her breath. "If it wasn't for Luffy fetching Doc so quickly you might have died." Her blue eyes where dead serious as they stared into his.<br>"Understand? So don't go running around and get yourself killed before you healed up ok?"  
>He couldn't resist it anymore, the bubbeling sensation in his belly won over the pain in his leg and the blush on his cheeks. He lifted his head and kissed her.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>To emberassed to write anything here... <strong>

**Futon = A traditional japanese madrass that funktions as a bed without legs.**


End file.
